jam circle, and it’s a guitar with a remarkable
amount of headroom—attacking the D- 50
with Towshendian abandon may blur some
of the high-mid harmonic content a little,
but it’s essentially impossible to overdrive this
guitar. Got a rock band where you can’t carve
out any room in the mix? The D- 50 might be
your blue-steel . 44 Magnum, Howitzer, and
Gatling gun all in one.
Open tunings are predictably huge sound-
ing on the D- 50. Open G and a brass slide
summoned a dry, raspy holler that sounded
fantastic against almost eternally droning and
ringing open strings. Flatpicking and hybrid-
picking workouts in DADGAD also revealed
the D- 50’s penchant for ringing overtones
and a punch that suited heavy pull-offs and
deep bends—perfect for stabs at Bert Jansch’s
“Blackwaterside” and “Jack Orion.”
If the D- 50 has any drawbacks, it’s the
horsepower it takes to really get this guitar
vibrating in fingerstyle situations. Thumbpick
users will likely be able to generate enough
attack, but fingerstylists who rely on a thumb-
nail or bare flesh may find the D- 50’s sweet
spots a little less accessible.
The Verdict
At the end of the day, the D- 50 Standard
is really a flatpick user’s game. It’s ideal for
heavy-strumming roots and country players, balladeers, bluegrass pickers, and blues
players who don’t mind putting a little brio
in their approach. While it’s not ideally
suited to fingerstylists, players with a heavier
attack or thumbpick-based technique will
be rewarded by the harmonic and overtone
capacity of the big rosewood-and-spruce
body. The D- 50 is also brimming with the
understated, simple sense of luxury and craft
that typifies most Guilds. This is a cannon
that’s built to bellow, bark, and take a beating for decades down the road. And it sends
a strong message that Guild will continue
to make first-class acoustics, no matter what
town it calls home.
Buy If...
burly, beastly acoustic tones and
a strong, aggressive flatpicking
attack are your cup of tea.
Skip If...
tender, late-night fingerstyle medi-
tations are your stylistic foundation.
Guild Guitars
Street $1999
guildguitars.com
or use a mobile device to read
this QR code to download audio
clips of the guitar at
CLICKHere…
